“Every barrel of oil that comes out of those sands in Canada is a barrel of oil that we don’t have to buy from a foreign source,” Mr. Perry said in Clarinda, earning a loud round of enthusiastic applause.

Later, the audience reacted again to Mr. Perry’s assertion that buying so much energy from foreign countries is “not good policy, it’s not good politics and frankly it’s un-American.”

Even if the alleged secessionist was talking about the North American continent instead of simply being geographically ignorant, he does ignore one fact, whether the oil comes from the Middle East, Texas or Canada, it all goes into the world’s oil market. If OPEC was to suddenly cut off our supply, Canada won’t suddenly swoop in to the rescue. The price of all oil would dramatically rise.

Author: Wendy GittlesonWendy is one of the luckiest people on the planet. She actually gets to make a living out of two of her greatest passions, writing and politics. When she's not writing, she's hiking with her dogs, riding her bike or cooking a great meal with her friends or loved one. Follow Wendy on Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus.